Skip to Main Content
Lansing Community College Library

English 122 - Composition II: Literary Criticism

Library resources for argumentative essays.

Find Literary Criticism with OneSearch

 

 

Find literary criticism published in peer-reviewed journals in multiple databases.

 

Search Tips for OneSearch

  • Put the title of the work in quotes and the author's last name, for example, "Doll's House" Ibsen
  • If you can't find criticism about a specific work, put the author's name in quotes along with the word criticism, e.g. "Luisa Valenzuela" criticism

Choosing a Topic

Start your search using the title of the work and the author's name, but you may also broaden your search to examine:

  • Author’s Work in General
  • Themes or Motifs – such as utopia, scapegoat
  • Types of Criticism – Marxist, feminist
  • Genre – such as science fiction
  • Literary Elements – such as metaphor, imagery
  • Time & Culture – such as 20th century, women

Search for background information about an author or work.

Recommended Literature Research Databases

How to Find Literary Criticism in Literature Databases

To find literary criticism in peer-reviewed journals in Literary Reference Center:

  1. Type the title of the work in quotes in the 1st box.
  2. Type the author’s name in the 2nd box (last name, first name) and select SU Subjects from the dropdown menu.
  3. Check the boxes under Limit your results to Full Text and Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals and click Search.

A screenshot of the database search screen. To find literary criticism: Type the title of the work in quotes in the 1st box. Type the author’s name in the 2nd box (last name, first name) and select SU Subjects from the dropdown menu. Check the boxes under Limit your results to Full Text and Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals and click Search.

 

Sample searches for literary criticism in Literary Reference Center:

To find literary criticism in peer-reviewed journals in JSTOR:

  1. Type the title of the work in quotes in the 1st box.
  2. Type the author’s name in quotes in the 2nd box.
  3. Narrow by Item Type by checking the Articles box and click Search.

A screenshot of the database search screen. To find literary criticism: Type the title of the work in quotes in the 1st box. Type the author’s name in quotes in the 2nd box. Narrow by Item Type by checking the Articles box and click Search.

To find literary criticism in peer-reviewed journals in Literature Criticism:

  1. Type the title of the work in the 1st box and select Name of Work from the dropdown menu.
  2. Type the author’s name (last name, first name) in the 2nd box and select Person-By or About from the dropdown menu.
  3. Under More Options, select Literature Criticism as content type and click Search.

A screenshot of the database search screen. To find literary criticism: Type the title of the work in the 1st box and select Name of Work from the dropdown menu. Type the author’s name (last name, first name) in the 2nd box and select Person-By or About from the dropdown menu. Under More Options, select Literature Criticism as content type and click Search.

Sample searches for literary criticism:

To find literary criticism in peer-reviewed journals in Literature Online:

  1. Select Criticism and type the title of the work in quotes in the search box.
  2. Check the box to limit the results to Full-text and Peer-reviewed and click Search.​

A screenshot of the database search screen. To find literary criticism: 1. Select Criticism and type the title of the work in quotes in the search box. 2. Check the box to limit the results to Full-text and Peer-reviewed and click Search.

 

 

Writing About Literature

What is Literary Criticism?

Literary criticism is the evaluation, analysis, description, or interpretation of literary works. It is usually in the form of a critical essay, but in-depth book reviews can sometimes be considered literary criticism.

Criticism may examine:

  • a particular literary work
  • an author's writings as a whole

Definition from IPL Lit Criticism Pathfinder